Chapter 47: A Hidden Arrow
In the midst of the fierce battle, Gao Jun and the others were more shocked the longer they fought,
All five of them were besieging Gu Zhan, but in this short span of time could only barely gain the upper hand.
At the same time, Gao Jun was secretly relieved, thankful that he hadn’t chosen to fight Gu Zhan alone in those previous encounters, or else he would already be a corpse under the blade.
He also felt lucky to have prepared a backup plan,
Otherwise, tonight’s outcome would really be hard to say.
In this world, martial artists are scarce, and true masters even rarer. As for upper three grades first-class martial artists, they are one in a thousand.
Being able to spare five men to deal with Gu Zhan was already the absolute limit after crunching all the numbers. After all, a first-class expert might not be decisive in military clashes, but in messy alley battles like this they often become the key factor.
Five first-class experts is their limit right now; any more and they couldn’t sustain the battle. If they took one or two more for Gu Zhan, the remaining battles would likely end swiftly in South City Hundred Households Office’s overwhelming favor.
Five first-class experts besieging Gu Zhan—
this is the limit,
and also their own limit!
What this battle meant tonight, each of them knew well; so from the beginning, not a single person held back, all went all out.
The sound of clashing weapons rang out,
Gu Zhan faced five first-class experts alone,
each had reached this level through countless bloody fights, their combat experience abundant.
Five first-class experts,
two second grade, three third grade.
Gu Zhan relied on his Qinggong, maneuvering and constantly looking for opportunities,
Until, during another clash,
Gu Zhan suddenly seized a chance,
A burst of bloody mist shot from his eyes, as he grabbed the last Horizontal Saber from his back, a crisp ring as the blade undrew, a pale saber shadow tore through the air, slicing through the crystal snow like glass and slashing at a masked second grade martial artist.
This person wore a mask,
but Gu Zhan guessed his identity, probably a Hundred Households from the Hundred Households Office and one of Luo Bingsheng’s trusted men.
To be exact, among the five first-class experts,
three masked figures were all Hundred Households from the Hundred Households Office.
Gu Zhan’s saber struck,
The second grade Hundred Households raised his blade to block, the huge force bending his arm sharply. But with same second grade cultivation, he was sure he could withstand this blow,
Yet,
At the instant the blades clashed,
his pupils widened suddenly, feeling a terrifying hateful aura, like a fiend crawling out from the depths of hell roaring,
his saber—was snapped in two,
At the same moment, another faint saber shadow lunged directly at him,
"Saber Qi...Innate..."
The second grade Hundred Households let out a startled shout, but his voice was abruptly cut off—a streak of red appeared on his forehead, reaching down to his nose,
With a "bang",
his head split in half, brain matter splattering.
In that instant,
The other four first-class experts were all stunned.
"Saber Qi...how can that be!" Gao Jun exclaimed.
But Gu Zhan gave them no time to ponder,
his eyes blood-red,
as if hating this world to the core.
This was an opening, a golden opportunity,
With the five-man siege broken,
The Horizontal Saber hummed crazily, as he slashed backward,
A dazzling burst of saber qi erupted, like a shooting star, once again breaking a Long Sword and cleaving into the neck of a Celestial Water Gang third grade martial artist.
In that instant, the head flew off,
blood gushed like a fountain.
"Don’t freeze up, attack, he can’t be Innate!"
Gao Jun roared, slashing at Gu Zhan,
The other two experts charged at the same time.
At that moment, all three unleashed power never seen before.
Gu Zhan’s face drenched in blood, snarling, looking savage, he tilted his head slightly, torso leaning forward at an awkward angle, hands gripping the saber handle tightly, hacking another third grade martial artist in half at the waist.
And right then,
a Feathered Arrow sliced through the night, shooting from afar,
That arrow,
startled the winter clouds.
shattered the dark night.
broke the saber’s edge!
The arrow came from the rooftop with incredible savage speed, like a meteor streaking through the night, whistling toward them.
As the arrow neared his back,
Gu Zhan sensed mortal danger,
but there was no time to dodge,
Too fast,
so fast Gu Zhan could only put the Horizontal Saber in front,
But the arrow was terrifying,
It pierced clean through the Horizontal Saber forged by endless hammering,
The arrowhead scraped the blade,
A dull "clang",
The Horizontal Saber shattered,
breaking clean in the middle,
and the arrow’s angle remained perfect, shooting straight at Gu Zhan’s chest.
"Boom"
Gu Zhan’s body was flung backward, slamming into a stone wall, smashing it to pieces, broken bricks sending up clouds of dust into the snowy night.
"Lord Gu!"
"Lord Gu..."
"Quick, save Lord Gu..."
The Embroidered Uniform Guards locked in battle shouted and charged toward Gu Zhan, but most were blocked.
On the other side, Gao Jun and the last first-class expert both secretly breathed a sigh of relief,
Too strong,
Gu Zhan was just too strong,
Strong enough that they nearly all died at his hands,
If not for that arrow,
they’d all be corpses under his blade!
As they relaxed, they didn’t linger, quickly charging at Gu Zhan.
Though they were almost certain,
still,
finishing blow is an essential Martial World skill.
Though they didn’t think Gu Zhan could still be alive,
after all, this was You Yangsheng’s arrow, the very arrow that once killed a First Grade martial artist,
This sneak attack succeeded,
They had seen Gu Zhan blasted away by that arrow,
That arrow hit Gu Zhan’s chest dead on!
Finishing blow,
The two rushed in, slashing open stone bricks on the ground,
Sure enough,
The Feathered Arrow was firmly lodged in Gu Zhan’s chest.
"No!"
Gao Jun suddenly cried aloud,
He noticed the length was wrong—with You Yangsheng’s power, the arrow should have pierced clean through Gu Zhan’s body,
But what he saw was,
half the arrowhead still sticking out.
But he realized too late,
Gu Zhan suddenly rolled upright, gripping the broken saber, slicing the third grade martial artist’s throat, then swinging at Gao Jun.
Gao Jun’s saber clashed with the broken saber,
Once again, both snapped,
Gu Zhan yanked out the Feathered Arrow from his chest, gripping the shaft and stabbed it into Gao Jun’s neck.
Blood sprayed,
Gao Jun’s eyes widened,
still incredulous. As he fell, he caught a glimpse of a faint golden light shimmering on Gu Zhan’s body.
"Golden Bell Shield...how can that be..."